The day after Aymen’s death, the night was very agitated in Montpellier in the Paillade district where the tragedy took place. The 14-year-old teenager was fatally hit by a driver on Wednesday on the sidelines of France’s victory over Morocco,
On Thursday evening, dozens of young people led a manhunt against a local resident whom they believe to have identified as being in the vehicle at the time. The numerous videos shared on social networks show dozens of people running in the streets with threatening messages towards the gypsy community. Community of which, according to them, the driver of the vehicle is a part.
The family’s call for calm
An apartment where the one they consider to be the perpetrator or one of his relatives resides was ransacked. Garbage cans and containers were also burned and access to the neighborhood closed by barricades. The CRS came under mortar fire. They used tear gas to restore order. No arrests were made. At the end of the evening, the riots affected the Petit-Bard district where a vehicle was burned.
The driver who fatally ran over Aymen is still at large. Very dignified, the family of the victim called for “the greatest calm”, expressing their confidence in the institutions of the Republic, so that justice is done. She repeated these calls during the violence.